Smooth email communications for Continental

Trouble-free, dependable communications with customers, suppliers, partners and its own workforce forms the solid basis for the Continental Group’s success. In order to maintain its email infrastructure in an optimal condition and to protect it effectively against possible threats, Continental AG relies on Retarus Email Security all around the globe.

Initial Situation

Global challenges – concentration on core competencies
Continental is one of the leading international automotive suppliers. The automotive industry is a sector in which competitive pressures are so great that growth can only be achieved through technological leadership. Long-term success against a background of keen global competition is only possible by concentrating on one‘s own competencies and by outsourcing those services and processes which are not directly related to these competencies.

Objective

Greater security and availability in email communications
Since the protection of email communications against possible threats from the internet is not part of Continental AG‘s core business activities, the group decided to outsource this task to an email security provider. The aim was to improve the security, availability, and performance of global email communications substantially while reducing IT costs and expenditure.

Expansion of a long-term partnership
Retarus has been a reliable IT partner of the Continental Group since 1994 and has demonstrated its outstanding expertise in a wide range of projects. The decisive factors for the continued expansion of the alliance were the excellent technical quality of Retarus‘ E-Mail Security services and the provision of services in line with local data protection directives, coupled with absolutely benchmarkable costs. Continental AG has been using Retarus E-Mail Security to safeguard its external email communications for more than 90,000 users worldwide since 2008.

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In Retarus we have found a dependable partner for our e-mail communications. Thanks to their reliable and innovative solutions, we are very well protected against any threats, both now and in the future.

Stefan Hopf, Head of Messaging and Collaboration, Continental AG

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Primary Challenges

All-round partner
In December 2007, Continental AG acquired Siemens Automotive Division VDO and was then faced with the challenge posed by thousands of additional email users. At the same time, a decision by the managing board to consolidate the email domains and email access had to be implemented. The existing, internally operated email gateways were incapable of meeting the new requirements in terms of capacity and performance. A further major challenge was the changeover of all VDO users from Microsoft Exchange to Lotus Notes/Domino. Retarus, being a messaging specialist with in-depth know-how in the field of Exchange and Notes, helped manage this time-critical migration during the introduction of its E-Mail Security.

Benefits

Email infrastructure: less strain and full protection
Retarus E-Mail Security provides multi-stage real-time protection against viruses and also highly efficient spam detection functions. Any unwanted or dangerous content is eliminated before it can affect Continental AG‘s infrastructure. This reduces unnecessary data transfer by as much as 95 percent and removes much of the stress from the email infrastructure. The user-friendly quarantine management facility means greater efficiency and productivity for company personnel in every part of the world.

Encryption of confidential messages
Protection of important data is business-critical in the automotive industry, especially in the research and development departments. The strictly confidential content of inbound and outbound emails is therefore automatically encrypted and decrypted for Continental in Retarus‘ data centers using a customized set of rules and without any user interaction (PGP and S/MIME). There is also TLS (transport layer security) connection encryption with predefined communications partners in compliance with VDA (German Association of the Automotive Industry) guidelines.

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Key Benefits

Service provision in line with local data protection directives

Maximum control and security for email communications

Internal system resources safeguarded and under less strain

24/7 support worldwide – Less strain on the Continental helpdesk

Encryption services without user interaction

Retarus Services

Conclusion

The partnership with Retarus has been a worthwhile one for Continental AG. Retarus has a broad range of highly efficient messaging solutions which can be flexibly modified and integrated at any point in time. The services are all perfectly coordinated and offer a high degree of functionality. Powerful analytical functions and detailed reports across all service instances ensure that Continental retains round-the-clock control over all its email communications.

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